Brewers make a move, trade for Gerardo Parra; Schafer optioned

While the Cardinals have stacked up rotation arms over the last couple days, the Brewers went a different route as they acquired OF Gerardo Parra from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for prospects OF Mitch Haniger and LHP Anthony Banda.

Parra gives the Brewers a badly needed left-handed bench bat. Over his six-year career with the Dbacks, Parra has slashed .274/.326/.395, though its worth noting the last couple years have dragged down that career line. Parra has two Gold Gloves, is an excellent fielder, and can play all three outfield positions. Predictably, current backup OF Logan Schafer has been optioned to AAA Nashville, and I don’t think any Brewers fan is going to be upset about that. It’s worth noting Parra has a heavy platoon split, so you shouldn’t expect to see him in any lineup facing a lefty.

The Brewers gave up two recent draft picks in Haniger and Banda, both coming to the team in the 2012 amateur draft. Haniger, the last of the team’s three first-round picks that year, has struggled at AA Hunstville this season after playing reasonably well with the Class A Appleton and high A Brevard County last year. Banda, a 10th round pick, has been fine in 83 innings with Appleton this year. Neither are high-value prospects.

We’ll see if the Brewers make any more moves before the trade deadline this afternoon. If Doug Melvin has some more magic in his bag, you’ll find it here. Stay tuned to creamcitycables.com and @creamcitycables on Twitter.